Institute of Fundamental Technological Research

Thermal treatment is a post-synthesis treatment that aims to improve the crystallinity and interrelated physical properties of as-prepared materials. This process may also cause some unwanted changes in materials like their oxidation or contamination. In this work, we present the post-synthesis annealing treatments of the amorphous Fe1−xCox (x = 0.25; 0.50; 0.75) Wire-like nanochains performed at 400 °C in two different atmospheres, i.e., a mixture of 80% nitrogen and 20% hydrogen and argon. These processes caused significantly different changes of structural and magnetic properties of the initially-formed Fe-Co nanostructures. All of them crystallized and their cores were composed of body-centered cubic Fe-Co phase, whereas their oxide shells comprised of a mixture of CoFe2O4 and Fe3O4 phases. However, the annealing carried out in hydrogen-containing atmosphere caused a decomposition of the initial oxide shell layer, whereas a similar process in argon led to its slight thickening. Moreover, it was found that the cores of thermally-treated Fe0.25Co0.75 nanochains contained the hexagonal closest packed (hcp) Co phase and were covered by the nanosheet-like shell layer in the case of annealing performed in argon. Considering the evolution of magnetic properties induced by structural changes, it was observed that the coercivities of annealed Fe-Co nanochains increased in comparison with their non-annealed counterparts. The saturation magnetization (MS) of the Fe0.25Co0.75 nanomaterial annealed in both atmospheres was higher than that for the non-annealed sample. In turn, the MS of the Fe0.75Co0.25 and Fe0.50Co0.50 nanochains annealed in argon were lower than those recorded for non-annealed samples due to their partial oxidation during thermal processing.

annealing, amorphous materials, Fe-Co nanochains, magnetic-field-induced synthesis, wire-like nanostructure

Preparation and detailed structural characterization of iron-nickel wire-like nanochains with Fe0.75Ni0.25, Fe0.50Ni0.50, and Fe0.25Ni0.75 compositions are reported. The investigated nanomaterials were produced in the novel template-free magnetic-field-induced reduction reaction with NaBH4 as a reducing agent. It is demonstrated that this method leads to the formation of Fe-Ni nanochains composed of spherical nanoparticles with an average diameter of 50-70 nm and with a very high degree of atomic disorder manifested as the lack of clearly developed bcc and fcc phases, which are usually observed for nano- and polycrystalline Fe-Ni species. The recorded wide-angle X-ray scattering data for the obtained Fe-Ni nanochains exhibit a strong resemblance to those obtained for bulk metallic glasses. The atomic scale structure of the investigated nanochains has been studied using pair distribution function analysis of the recorded total scattering data. The best fits to the experimental pair distribution functions have been achieved assuming two-phase models of hcp and bcc networks with the size of coherently scattering regions of about 2.5 nm in diameter, for each Fe-Ni composition. Transmission electron microscopy images indicate that the glass-like bimetallic alloy cores are covered by amorphous oxide/hydroxide shells with thickness ranging from 2 to 5 nm. Moreover, electron energy loss spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Mössbauer spectroscopy results confirm the core-shell structure of the Fe-Ni nanochains and a complex character of shell layer which consists of several iron- and nickel-containing phases.

The main objective of this work is to study the influence of thermal oxidation on the chemical composition and magnetic properties of iron nanoparticles which were manufactured in a simple chemical reduction of Fe3+ ions coming from iron salt with sodium borohydride. The annealing processing was performed in an argon atmosphere containing the traces of oxygen to avoid spontaneous oxidation of iron at temperatures ranging from 200 °C to 800 °C. The chemical composition and magnetic properties of as-prepared and thermally-treated nanoparticles were determined by means of X-ray diffractometry, Raman spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry. Due to the magnetic interactions, the investigated iron nanoparticles tended to create the dense aggregates which were difficult to split even at low temperatures. This caused that there was no empty space between them, which led to their partial sintering at elevated temperatures. These features hindered their precise morphological observations using the electron microscopy techniques. The obtained results show that the annealing process up to 800 °C resulted in a progressive change in the chemical composition of as-prepared iron nanoparticles which was associated with their oxidation. As a consequence, their magnetic properties also depended on the annealing temperature. For instance, considering the values of saturation magnetization, its highest value was recorded for the as-prepared nanoparticles at 1 T and it equals 149 emu/g, while the saturation point for nanoparticles treated at 600 °C and higher temperatures was not reached even at the magnetic field of about 5 T. Moreover, a significant enhancement of coercivity was observed for the iron nanoparticles annealed over 600 °C.

Chemical composition, Chemical reduction, Iron nanoparticle, Magnetic properties, Oxidation

Magnetic nanoparticles based on iron or iron oxides represent an excellent nanomaterial in respect of their fundamental research as well as numerous applications. This work presents a Mössbauer study of the influence of thermal treatment on the structure and phase composition of iron nanoparticles fabricated via a simple reduction reaction. Identification of iron-containing phases has been carried out for the series of samples annealed at different temperatures ranging between 200 C and 800 C. Both crystalline and amorphous iron as well as variety of iron oxides have been detected. It has been proved that the nanoparticles annealed at 500 C show superparamagnetic behavior as a result of ultrafine sizes of crystallites of iron oxides that arise in the oxidation processes.

This work describes the detailed studies performed on the nanocomposite composed of chemically-modified multiwall carbon nanotubes covered by hematite nanoparticles which diameters vary from 10 nm to 70 nm. This nanomaterial was fabricated in two-steps facile chemical synthesis and was characterized with the use of several experimental techniques, such as: thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy in order to determine its structure precisely. Moreover, the investigated nanocomposite was tested as an anode material of Li-ion batteries. Its cycling performance was stable during 40 cycles, while its capacity was retained at the level of 330 and 230 mAh/g at the discharge/charge rate of 25 and 200 mA/g, respectively.

anode material, hematite, Li-ion battery, multiwall carbon nanotube, nanocomposite

Functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes as well as nanocomposite based on that material covered by nanoparticles composed of iron oxides were the subject of investigations. In order to identify all iron-bearing phases including those reported on the base of previous X-ray diffraction measurements, the transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy was utilized. The experiments were carried out both at room temperature and also at low temperatures. It was stated that in the investigated nanotubes some impurities were present, originating from the catalyst remains, in form of Fe–C and -Fe nanoparticles. The Mössbauer spectra collected for the nanocomposite showed a complex shape characteristic of temperature relaxations. The following subspectra related to iron-based phases were identified: sextet attributed to hematite, with hyperfine magnetic field reduced due to the temperature relaxations, sextet corresponding to iron carbide as well as two doublets linked to superparamagnetic hematite and ferrihydrites.

Mossbauer spectroscopy, multiwall carbon nanotubes, phase transition

This work describes an oxidation process of iron–iron oxide core–shell nanowires at temperatures between 100°C and 800°C. The studied nanomaterial was synthesized through a simple chemical reduction of iron trichloride in an external magnetic field under a constant flow of argon. The electron microscopy investigations allowed determining that the as-prepared nanowires were composed of self-assembled iron nanoparticles which were covered by a 3 nm thick oxide shell and separated from each other by a thin interface layer. Both these layers exhibited an amorphous or highly-disordered character which was traced by means of transmission electron microscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The thermal oxidation was carried out under a constant flow of argon which contained the traces of oxygen. The first stage of process was related to slow transformations of amorphous Fe and amorphous iron oxides into crystalline phases and disappearance of interfaces between iron nanoparticles forming the studied nanomaterial (range: 25–300°C). After that, the crystalline iron core and iron oxide shell became oxidized and signals for different compositions of iron oxide sheath were observed (range: 300–800°C) using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy. According to the thermal gravimetric analysis, the nanowires heated up to 800°C under argon atmosphere gained 37% of mass with respect to their initial weight. The structure of the studied nanomaterial oxidized at 800°C was mainly composed of α-Fe2O3 (∼93%). Moreover, iron nanowires treated above 600°C lost their wire-like shape due to their shrinkage and collapse caused by the void coalescence.

annealing, core-shell nanostructure, iron nanoparticles, iron nanowires, oxidation, thermal treatment

The main goal of this work is to study the structural and magnetic properties of iron nanowires and iron nanoparticles, which have been fabricated in almost the same processes. The only difference in the synthesis is an application of an external magnetic field in order to form the iron nanowires. Both nanomaterials have been examined by means of transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, X-ray diffractometry and Mössbauer spectrometry to determine their structures. Structural investigations confirm that obtained iron nanowires as well as nanoparticles reveal core–shell structures and they are composed of crystalline iron cores that are covered by amorphous or highly defected phases of iron and iron oxides. Magnetic properties have been measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The obtained values of coercivity, remanent magnetization, saturation magnetization as well as Curie temperature differ for both studied nanostructures. Higher values of magnetizations are observed for iron nanowires. At the same time, coercivity and Curie temperature are higher for iron nanoparticles.

iron nanoparticles, iron nanostructures, iron nanowires, magnetic properties, structural properties

Raman spectroscopy as well as Mössbauer spectroscopy were applied in order to study the phase composition of iron nanowires and its changes, caused by annealing in a neutral atmosphere at several temperatures ranging from 200°C to 800°C. As-prepared nanowires were manufactured via a simple chemical reduction in an external magnetic field. Both experimental techniques proved formation of the surface layer covered by crystalline iron oxides, with phase composition dependent on the annealing temperature (Ta). At higher Ta, hematite was the dominant phase in the nanowires.

amorphous iron and iron oxides, iron nanowires, Mössbauer spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, thermal annealing